The Black Swan, Oldstead

First things first. Is it a pub? Well, yes and no. Oldstead’s 16th-century country inn has the ambience, ales and rolling rural views that are de rigueur in these parts. You want a rustic pint in the North York Moors, fill your boots. But truth to tell, you are probably only here to worship at the table of Tommy Banks, the local-boy chef who has turned his family’s Black Swan pub into a Michelin-starred destination of some renown. It regularly features in the ‘world’s best’ lists, with its field-to-fork ethos that starts in the vast kitchen gardens, dives into the local hedgerows and plunders neighbouring artisan outlets and farms for the very best produce.

Dinner is a celebrated tasting menu and a tasting menu alone, and while its very nature means that dishes can’t be predicted, you should expect the sort of foraging, fermenting, preserving and experimenting that comes with Michelin recognition. And settle in, because this is an all-night, multi-course affair. The guest bedrooms, just a few yards from the main building, are all gorgeous and each comes with a table reservation, making the point that the meal is very much the experience you are signed up for. Reservations otherwise have to be made up to a year in advance.